1. Field
Various embodiments of the present invention relate generally to an electronic device and, more particularly, to a three-dimensional semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A non-volatile memory device is a memory device in which stored data is maintained even when the power supply to the device is turned off. Recently, improvements in the integration density of two-dimensional memory devices, in which memory cells are arranged in a single layer on a silicon substrate, have reached a limit. However, a three-dimensional (3D) non-volatile memory device has been proposed in which a plurality of memory cells are arranged in multiple layers in a 3D stacked structure. A 3D non-volatile memory device includes a vertical channel layer protruding from a substrate, and a plurality of memory cells stacked along a vertical channel layer. The 3D structure allows significant enhancement in the integration density of a semiconductor device, however it creates new challenges regarding its structure stability and performance characteristics.